Genre
Children's fiction
Setting and Context
Present day, primarily at Charley and Emma's school
Narrator and Point of View
The book is narrated from Charley's point of view
Tone and Mood
Initially trepidation and slightly fearful, later the book is hopeful and positive.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Charley is the protagonist; there is no actual antagonist in the traditional sense, although Emma's wheelchair is initially antagonistic in that Charley fears it and does not understand it
Major Conflict
There is conflict within Charley as he is frightened of the wheelchair but then he reminds himself of what his mother has told him about positive differences and he is conflicted between his feelings and his knowledge.
Climax
Charley realizes that although he and Emma have different abilities they have more in common than they have differences.
Foreshadowing
The fact that he has never seen anyone his own age in a wheelchair foreshadows Charley's first feelings of fear.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
The book alludes to the author's own experiences as a special needs advocate and the real-life experiences of the children she has counselled.
Imagery
N/A
Paradox
The more time Charley spends with Emma the less he sees her wheelchair and the more he just sees Emma the person.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between Emma's abilities and her disabilities because she has developed different abilities in order to make her disability have as little effect on her life as possible.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Disabled, or differently abled, people is the term used to encompass each individual wheelchair bound person in the community
Personification
Emma's chair is almost a third central character in the book, given a presence that is almost personified.
